Mystery Money Man – The Anonymous Financial Freedom Fighterhttp://www.mysterymoneyman.com
Financial freedom advice for families.Wed, 13 Dec 2017 06:48:46 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.1121442873WHY I’M CLIMBING DOWN THE CORPORATE LADDERhttp://www.mysterymoneyman.com/why-im-climbing-down-the-corporate-ladder/
http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/why-im-climbing-down-the-corporate-ladder/#commentsSun, 10 Dec 2017 22:41:23 +0000http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/?p=2129“Man, what can we do? Think about it…we’re stuck!” M’s words hit me hard, like a figurative punch to the gut. I shook my head slightly, lowering it into my chest. But this time, something had changed. Instead of the frustration that had become all too familiar, I felt a new emotion rise up. “No, no…NO! I won’t ...

“Man, what can we do? Think about it…we’re stuck!” M’s words hit me hard, like a figurative punch to the gut. I shook my head slightly, lowering it into my chest. But this time, something had changed. Instead of the frustration that had become all too familiar, I felt a new emotion rise up. “No, no…NO! I won’t accept that, I refuse to be stuck. I am going create another path, and it begins now!” The words resounded so fully within me, it felt as though I’d spoken them aloud. My audible response betrayed this new resolve. “I don’t know”, I replied, almost under my breath, and gradually moved the conversation. But inside I knew; my mindset had shifted, there was no going back. –

December 2014 was a watershed moment for me, career-wise. I had just received the top leadership award within my business division, recognized for combining strong business results with leadership both inside the organization as well as the outside community.

A healthy promotion followed, and soon afterwards I was overseeing a larger team, as well as a book of business just shy of a billion dollars. Yes, that’s billion – with a ‘b’. Suddenly, so called ‘important’ people seemed interested in what I had to say.

I was invited to join the executive team as they built out the business plan for the upcoming fiscal year, and was appointed to the board of a national charitable organization, which required me to fly to meetings around the country every couple of months.

DECISIONS

My direct manager, along with her boss, a high ranking executive, reached out on a fairly regular basis to discuss my career development. They encouraged me to consider becoming mobile, a prerequisite to ‘climb the corporate ladder’, and join them in the executive ranks.

I have to admit, it all sounded pretty good, and for a little while I actually considered taking the plunge. I remember my wife and I having a number of conversations about the possibility of packing up our family, and going wherever the company decided to send us next.

But no matter how much we tossed the idea around, neither of us could feel peace about it. I think deep down we both knew that the desire for change we were feeling had little to do with a new city, or a few thousand extra dollars in our bank account. As such, we decided to push talk of promotions aside.

Fast forward one year.

My manager had moved on, and along came her replacement. It didn’t take long to realize that my world, and that of my colleagues, was about to shift, and not in a good way.

In our first meeting, the new boss declared himself a micro-manager. He wore it like a badge of honour. Less than a week into the job, he began sending threatening emails to myself and others, making unrealistic demands to be met within even more unrealistic time frames. The fact that business results had trended downwards in recent months didn’t make it any easier. There was little attempt to build relationship or rapport, let alone understand the business, of which he lacked experience.

He spoke poorly of certain employees to others, stooping to bullying tactics and harassment to achieve his objectives. Several staff, myself included, would receive demanding texts and emails at all hours, often at 3 or 4 in the morning. It got to the point where I removed my work email from my phone. And the lies, they became commonplace. The guy could spout untruths with nary a blink.

(In case you’re wondering, I don’t work in the White House )

LOOKING FOR A LEADER

In less than a year, the once thriving employee-centred culture within our business area (500 employees), had completely eroded. This occurred within an organization renowned for how well it treats its people. Proof that it can happen anywhere. The amount of influence one individual can exercise across a huge employee network, negative or positive, never ceases to amaze me.

The best leaders seem to inspire teams to greatness with ease, while the poor ones suck the life right out.

Throughout the year, as much as I was aware of what was happening, I struggled to prevent this person from affecting my well being. It was so frustrating. I lost confidence, often came home mentally exhausted, which made it more difficult to stay active. I put on weight and battled feelings of anger. I even shared some of my frustrations in this post, at the time.

How could I allow anyone like this to influence me so negatively? It was a question I kept asking myself. Ultimately, I got my fight back, but thankfully the battle didn’t drag on too long.

Earlier this year the manager left, ushered from his role prematurely amidst a barrage of HR complaints and negative employee feedback. I survived. Not everyone did. Under his watch, a number of good employees were let go, and others lost their resolve and jumped ship. One thing I’ve learned is to never leave a job due to a bad boss, so jumping ship was never an option.

Thankfully, things improved dramatically after his departure, and I’m enjoying my job as much as I ever have. But this experience was a game changer for me. Out of it came a lot of self-reflection and soul searching, all of which reinforced my decision to climb DOWN the corporate ladder.

CLIMBING DOWN

What does ‘climbing down’ look like?

Put simply, my wife and I will replace the income from my corporate career, “the 9-5”, within 3 years, by being aggressive with our personal finances and converting location independent side hustles into a full time career.

We’re a single income family. We have a mortgage and three teen/pre-teen kids. It won’t be an easy feat, but nothing worth doing ever is.

UNDERSTANDING THE WHY

Climbing down the corporate ladder is not my response to a bad experience with an abysmal boss.

That was simply the last straw. My turning point.

The place I found my resolve.

As I mentioned earlier, I love my job, but I’m driven to create the ability to leave it. Here a few reasons why, in no particular order:

1. The industry I work in is being disrupted. Digital technologies, such as mobile and AI, are causing rapid change in my business. Will my current job be there in five years? Yes. Ten? Maybe. Fifteen or twenty? Doubtful. I can stand still and become a lame duck, or I can forge a different path.

2. Large corporations are becoming increasingly disloyal to their employees. Mine is no different. I witnessed this in real time over the past two years. I provide enormous value to my employer. But I’ve watched as equally valuable people are let go with little more than a handshake, the mandatory severance package, and a few drinks at the nearest watering hole. If you work for a large organization, and you think for a second that the number one priority is anything other than pleasing shareholders, you’re living in a dreamworld.

3. Increasingly, I feel like a creative trapped in a 9-5. I’m far from the only one. There are plenty of creative people who work regular jobs, and I possess several attributes that align with how I make a living. I’m a people person in a people business. I tend to be a very good decision maker, and can operate in high pressure situations.

But my greatest passion is to create. I’m a songwriter, and a music producer. I’m an idea person. When I’m not at work, I live within the creative process. Since I began blogging and side hustling in the past year, that inspiration has gone to the next level. Not only am I brainstorming my own side hustle ideas, I find myself contemplating ideas for other bloggers/side hustlers. The bottom line: My 9-5 is very uncreative, and the two forces are beginning to clash with one another.

4. Most importantly, our ideal life is shifting. In the future, my wife and I want to spend more time travelling. My side of the family live in another part of the country, and I want to see them more often. Not being tied to an office will be key to making that a reality. Moreover, our kids are growing up. For years, our family’s daily routine varied little, so the 9-5 worked very well, but that’s gradually changing. In short, work-wise, schedule flexibility is quickly becoming my top priority.

How will I climb down?

There is no roadmap for climbing down the corporate ladder, but if you ask me, I’m better off taking action and starting something, rather than waiting until I’ve “connected all of the dots” looking forward. If I take that approach, it’ll never happen. That said, here are a few things I’ll need to prioritize, in order to be successful:

1. Remain engaged in my current job. While I’ve shifted my career focus away from advancement beyond my current role, it’s important that I still put my full energy into the work I do. After all, my career continues to be an important asset, something I don’t take for granted.

2. Live frugally. By aggressively reducing our expenses and growing our savings levels, my wife and I have and will continue to decrease the income we require to live. Our frugal lifestyle will allow me to make the leap to self employment that much sooner.

3. Relentlessly challenge my fears. Fear is a powerful emotion that prevents so many people from moving forward in life. Often, we don’t even realize that it’s fear holding us back, because we build such a web of excuses to convince ourselves NOT to chase our dreams. Be honest with yourself. Figure out what makes you afraid, and what needs to be done to push past it.

4. Prioritizing family. No pursuit of a dream or career can come at the expense of my family. They are my number one priority, as well as my primary motivation.

5. Create additional income streams through side hustles. I’ve already begun to lay a foundation by building scalable and location independent businesses/side hustles. My regular reader’s will know that at present those include this blog, a logo-design start up, a freelance music production venture as well as a developing digital marketing business.

6. Collaborate often. We can accomplish so much more when we draw on the strengths of others. This is something I’ve experienced first hand. I know that in my own ability, I am very limited. When I need to tackle something beyond of my area of gifting, I can’t be afraid to reach out, and leverage other people’s talent.

In order to make it through almost two years of authoritarian hell in our workplace, my colleagues and I relied on each other for support. One of those people is also a close friend. Throughout the tyranny, we would meet for coffee on a regular basis. We talked about life, our families, and our favourite sports teams, and we allowed each other the chance to vent about our challenges at work.M shared the same need for change that I did, and he felt just as ‘stuck’. But, like me, he also found his resolve, his own turning point.The interesting thing is, he decided to take the opposite path. As the skies cleared, rather than climb down the corporate ladder, he decided to go up. A few months later, he took a promotion and moved his family 2000 miles away, and began his ascent. Perhaps he feels he can reach high enough to escape the madness. I know that he doesn’t share the same creative urge as I, and so the corporate structure is more palatable. He’ll do well. He’s gifted, and possesses unshakable integrity. A bright light.As for me, I couldn’t be happier. I’m ready to fly, with feet planted firmly in the ground.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post, as well as your personal career experiences. Please don’t hesitate to reach out by commenting below, or by sending me an email anytime!

]]>http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/why-im-climbing-down-the-corporate-ladder/feed/222129WAKING UP FROM A LAZY NOVEMBERhttp://www.mysterymoneyman.com/waking-lazy-november/
http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/waking-lazy-november/#respondThu, 07 Dec 2017 00:59:30 +0000http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/?p=2115What happened? November started so well. Week one, I took time off. My wife and I went away to a cabin in the woods for a couple of days, which was transformed into a winter wonderland with the season’s first snowfall. It was magical. Returning home, I had the most productive of weeks. I played full time blogger, released three ...

What happened? November started so well. Week one, I took time off. My wife and I went away to a cabin in the woods for a couple of days, which was transformed into a winter wonderland with the season’s first snowfall. It was magical. Returning home, I had the most productive of weeks. I played full time blogger, released three posts, and made progress on my digital marketing side hustle. Not to mention how good it was to be home when the kids walked in the door from school every day. In every way, the time off was wonderful.

The remainder of November? Not so much.

My first day back at work lasted 12 hours, and I was quickly reminded of the overwhelming responsibility of my 9-5 9-9?. Truthfully, the hours aren’t often that long, but the mental exhaustion at times can tend to drain capacity from other areas of my life. I enjoy many things about my job, that’s not one of them. : )

It may have been my way of coping with the intensity of work, but I became pretty sluggish for the remainder of the month. I ignored a few of to-do items around the house, I didn’t exercise at all, and I resorted to watching far too many Hallmark Christmas Specials (cringe). The acting is terrible, plots are non-existent, but do they ever smother on the holiday charm.

In short, I’m not proud of my three weeks of absolute laziness, but I’m also not going to dwell on it.
It’s true, everyone needs a break from time to time, even though I went a bit overboard in that department.

LOOKING AHEAD

For the month of December, I’ve decided to fall back into routine by sharing some shorter posts, more frequently. Thankfully, while I was lazing around, I didn’t completely shut my brain off. I’ve been documenting thoughts, brainstorming ideas, some of which I will flesh out. I do want to spend some time on the topic of the ‘9-5’, and delve more into my own story. I write a lot about side hustles, and the importance of creating additional sources of income as a means to build financial freedom. But I haven’t shared why it’s so important to me personally.

One of my goals this month is to overhaul the “About Us” page of this website, to make it more reflective of my family’s current journey. I want to share with you some of the hopes and dreams my wife and I have for the next 5-10 years. Our story. The existing bio was written when I started this blog, and while factual, it feels very generic when I re-read it today.

I’ll be writing on a range of topics, things like ‘connecting the dots’ (stay tuned), morning routine, a conversation I had with a down-and-out gentleman the other day (maybe), and some of my thoughts on fear, more specifically the importance of staying very close to your fears.

That’s all I have for today (I guess this is the first of my ‘bite-sized’ posts). : )

PS. I want to thank all of you, my readers, for being a part of this community! Your emails, comments and encouraging words are what keeps me writing. I’m so looking forward to 2018, and connecting with you further. Also, If you aren’t already, remember to follow along on Instagram and Twitter! I’ll see you there!

]]>http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/waking-lazy-november/feed/02115INVEST IN THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFULhttp://www.mysterymoneyman.com/invest-in-the-tools-you-need-to-be-successful/
http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/invest-in-the-tools-you-need-to-be-successful/#commentsMon, 13 Nov 2017 08:29:30 +0000http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/?p=2088When I was a kid, about once a month, my brother and I would walk to get our hair cut after school. Our hairdresser’s name was Sherri, and together with her business partner, they owned a small salon on the main street. Next door to the salon was a long standing ice cream shoppe, and next to that was the ...

]]>When I was a kid, about once a month, my brother and I would walk to get our hair cut after school. Our hairdresser’s name was Sherri, and together with her business partner, they owned a small salon on the main street. Next door to the salon was a long standing ice cream shoppe, and next to that was the river which ran through our town. I don’t believe either building is still standing, but that’s neither here nor there.

I was a pretty outgoing kid, and enjoyed having conversations with adults. Because of this, I never minded going for a haircut. After all, Sherri provided a captive audience! She was also very friendly, as many hairstylists tend to be.

Anyways, I recall one particular conversation, when she told me that she had had to purchase a new pair of hair scissors.

I don’t remember if I had asked, or if Sherri had volunteered the information, but somehow the topic of the price of the scissors came up. (Knowing my 10 year old self, chances are I asked about it).

She told me that she had paid somewhere in the neighbourhood of $300, which shocked me. What!?! I couldn’t believe it. Why would anyone drop that kind of money on a pair of scissors?

Keep in mind, I was 10 years old, and this was a long time ago, mid-1980’s. In fact, while we talked she was probably spiking my hair in the likeness of Corey Hart, my music idol at the time. : ) That’s right, Sunglasses At Night, baby!

I remember being very surprised by the expense. But then Sherri explained to this curious 10 year old that scissors were the MOST important tool of her trade, essential to her ability to make a living.

Looking back, I’m sure $300 seemed like a lot of money to her as well, but she clearly understood the value of paying a premium in order to perform her job at a higher level.

Fast forward 20 years.

I have a brother-in-law who is a cabinet maker. He has a shop behind his house, where he crafts the finest cabinets in our area. The quality of his work really is unparalleled, and he takes great care to deliver the highest quality kitchens to his clients.

A number of years ago, he purchased a new table saw for his shop. It was a German made product, and was so large, that he had to cut an opening in the front wall of his shop in order to have it installed. It was very expensive, somewhere between $15,000-$20,000. I remember it being around the price of a Honda Civic.

A $15,000 table saw is on a whole other level than a pair of professional hair scissors, but the same principle applies; invest in the tools that you need to be successful.

I thought of these two stories yesterday, while recording a talented young band in the MMM recording studio! Allow me to explain:

PAYING DIVIDENDS

If you’ve been hanging out here at Mystery Money Man for awhile, you know that I’ve got a recording studio in my basement. For a home-based studio, it’s a pretty professional setup, complete with a sound proof, acoustically treated isolation room. When I built it a few years ago, I was careful to invest money in the areas that I knew would provide the greatest return on my investment: sound quality.

Now, I should mention that at the time, it was a pretty extravagant purchase. I had dreamed of having my own studio for years, and built it for my own personal use. Now that I’ve begun producing music as a side hustle, however, the investment is paying dividends.

Getting back to yesterday, and a very cool moment! As I was sitting in the control room area, coffee in hand, with the band starting in on the first song, I couldn’t help but smile.

The quality of sound coming through the studio speakers was SO good! The tone of the acoustic guitar, the warmth of the vocal, and the punchy-ness of the percussion was incredible, even in it’s raw, untreated state. (and no, punchy-ness isn’t an actual word…)

The players were well rehearsed, and the songs were great, which certainly didn’t hurt. But in that moment I realized; I had invested in the tools I need to be successful.

It was then that I was reminded of my brother-in-law, and the childhood story about my hairdresser.

WHAT TOOLS DO YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL?

I’ve used a couple of extreme examples here. Not everyone needs a $15,000 table saw in order to make a living, but regardless of your career or side hustle, the same concept applies.

TOOLS FOR BLOGGERS

If you’re a blogger and are serious about growing your audience, I encourage you to begin thinking about what tools you need to facilitate that growth. The great news is that you have a myriad of free tools at your disposal. Website plug-ins, email and social media automation apps, and free online courses on just about every subject imaginable.

I haven’t even mentioned perhaps the best resource of all: other bloggers! You can learn so much just by developing relationships with bloggers who have a bit more experience than you. You’ll also find that most bloggers (like me) are more than willing to help. You just have to reach out! : )

A FEW FREE BLOGGING TOOLS I USE

For this blog, I take advantage of a number of free tools, all of which add value. Here are some of the of the best, in no particular order:

I use the free versions of Sumo and Mail Chimp to collect and store email addresses from new subscribers, and deliver updates and content to my readers.

I also use the free version of the Yoast SEO plug-in, and Google Analytics, to assist with optimizing my site, and better understand my blog traffic.

This next one has quickly become one of my favourites…

I recently started using Evernote to manage my creative process. It is such an incredible application! Evernote syncs between my MacBook Pro and iPhone, and allows me to quickly clip links to articles, images, or videos I find on the web, for viewing at a later time. It organizes all of my writing, and allows me to move between drafts (notes) seamlessly. It also auto-saves. My initial impressions are that Evernote absolutely rocks!

I automate my posts on social media using the free version of Buffer, which saves SO much time. Ten minutes each morning, and I’m good to go for the day.

Most of these plug-ins have ‘paid’ options with additional features, but at this point I’m getting more than enough value from the free version.

BLOGGING TOOLS I PAY FOR

I’ll share with you a couple of blogging tools that I pay for. After all, this post is about investing in the tools you need to be successful. The word ‘investing’ implies that you are making a contribution, that you have some ‘skin in the game’. This usually refers to money, but it could also be your time.

I only use a few paid tools for managing the blog, but I consider them vital to my success.

The first is Board Booster, which automates my Pinterest sharing. It’s only $5-6 per month, and is worth every penny to me. I invested some serious time into Pinterest up front, but once I understood how it worked, I turned it over to Board Booster, and it took care of everything else.
I spend hardly any time on Pinterest, yet it’s become my top source of social media traffic, thanks in large part to Board Booster!

Another blogging tool I pay for is a Jetpack subscription. It’s about $4/month. Jetpack is a super plug-in, which adds a number of important features to my website. The most valuable is probably VaultPress, which backs up my site on a daily basis. It also provides detailed statistics, and page features like the “Related Posts”, which you will find directly below this article.

I use Pic Monkey to design and edit all of my images, including my Pinterest images. It’s a very valuable application for everything image related, and is only a couple dollars/month, although I pay annually.

DECISION TIME

Whether it’s blogging or any other side hustle or business, you reach various points where you must decide whether to invest in yourself by spending more of your time or money in order to be successful.

Keep in mind, everyones journey is unique, and what works for one person might not be right for the next.

TAKING THE NEXT STEP

Suffice it to say, I recently arrived at that place on my journey, which requires a decision about investing for success.

If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, you know that one of my main focuses is to increase income by building side hustles that share 2 characteristics: Scalability and location independence. This plays a significant role in my family’s long term goals, something that I’ll be sharing more of over the next little while.

It’s why I helped launch the startup, BrogoLogo.com, with a close friend. It’s also why I started the aforementioned music production side hustle, not to mention a major reason I began blogging in the first place.

HOW I’M INVESTING FOR SUCCESS

Before I dive fully into digital marketing, I know that I absolutely HAVE TO supplement my current knowledge with more formal, rigorous training.

Just this weekend, I started a Digital Marketing/SEO course, which I will complete over the next couple of months. The course wasn’t cheap, but I know it will be worth it!

I absolutely can’t wait to apply my learnings to my existing side hustles, not to mention take on digital marketing clients as soon as I’m ready. I’ll be sure to provide updates as I progress through the course!

ONLINE COURSES AS A TOOL FOR SUCCESS

There are SO many online courses available. Many of them are free, but depending on the level of knowledge you’re wanting to build, it might make sense to spring for a paid course.

This is a big step for me. It’s an investment in myself, so that I can add more value to others; you, my readers, my future clients, and indirectly, my family.

Ok, two more things…first of all, here’s the question I’d like you to consider. Feel free to share your thoughts/experiences in the comments below or send me an email anytime!

What areas are you striving for success? It could be anything. Your health, a side hustle, career, your family, or financial independence. Whatever it is, give some thought to the tools you’ll need for success.

BLOGGER BONUS!!!

Since we’re on the topic of identifying and investing in tools for success…if you have your own blog, or are thinking about it, I need to make you aware of an incredible giveaway happening right now!

Pete McPherson, of Do You Even Blog, a fantastic website/podcast resource for bloggers, is running a contest, with $1600 dollars worth of blogging tools as a top prize. These tools are geared towards helping you BOOST your BLOG. Numerous discounts, top online courses, you name it, can be won. The deadline for entries is November 20th, and the winning entries will be drawn on November 23rd!

All you need to do to enter is join the Do You Even Blog email list, which you can access viathis link.

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with the DYEB giveaway, aside from entering the contest myself a couple of days ago. I’m including this plug to support Pete, and because I think the giveaway ties in perfectly with the subject matter of this post. Also, I’d seriously love to see one of my readers win this thing…even more than me.

]]>http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/invest-in-the-tools-you-need-to-be-successful/feed/142088EXPONENTIAL FRUGALITY: UNCOVERING THE TRUE POTENTIAL OF FRUGAL LIVINGhttp://www.mysterymoneyman.com/exponential-frugality-uncovering-the-true-potential-of-your-thrifty-purchase/
http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/exponential-frugality-uncovering-the-true-potential-of-your-thrifty-purchase/#commentsFri, 10 Nov 2017 10:13:51 +0000http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/?p=2063Hey everyone! Allow me to introduce a concept that I like to call ‘Exponential Frugality’. It’s a simple but different way to calculate the $$$ you’ve saved from being frugal. I hope you find it helpful, or at the very least, thought provoking. Enjoy! You may or may not consider yourself a fugal person. After all, we all hold varying levels ...

]]>Hey everyone! Allow me to introduce a concept that I like to call ‘Exponential Frugality’. It’s a simple but different way to calculate the $$$ you’ve saved from being frugal. I hope you find it helpful, or at the very least, thought provoking. Enjoy!

You may or may not consider yourself a fugal person. After all, we all hold varying levels of awareness and/or commitment to frugal living. Some exercise little to no restraint over their spending, while others take a measured approach to each and every purchase they make.

Frugality isn’t always chosen; at times it’s a forced reality, the necessary response to a lack of resources. Inclination can also play a role. In other words, there are people who will always be frugal to the core, regardless of their financial situation.

BENEFITS OF FRUGAL LIVING

It’s no secret that around here, we place a pretty high value on frugality, in part because we understand the benefits, which extend far beyond dollars and cents. I could argue that frugal living is the single most effective way to improve your finances. But it does so much more:

1. Frugality can remove much of the complexity, thus stress, from life.

2. It shifts our focus away from materialism and the pursuit of stuff, towards something far more satisfying: relationships and experiences.

3. It results in less wastefulness. In other words, it’s good for the environment.

4. Frugality frees up your most finite resource; time. Because you’re spending less of it thinking about acquiring stuff, and then running around accumulating it, you have more time to spend on things that matter. Your family & friends, being active, or pursuing interests you’re passionate about.

5. Frugality is also a freedom booster. In other words, not being tied down to a monster mortgage or a large car payment makes it a lot easier to travel, change careers, or even retire early.

FROM FOUNDATIONAL TO EXPONENTIAL FRUGALITY

This is all great, but I want to stretch your thinking on frugality. Frugal living is defined as the cutting back, or cutting out of a frivolous expense. It could mean denying yourself that daily Starbucks latte, or deciding to buy a big ticket item used instead of new, like a vehicle or a major appliance.

These decisions can have a dramatic, positive effect on your financial situation. For example, if you normally buy a latte 5 times/week, you’ll save $1300/year by eliminating that expense. Now, I’m not going to be the one to spoil your fun, so I wouldn’t dare suggest that you not drink a latte ever again. Instead, let’s say you cut back to 2 per week, instead of 5. You’re still saving $520.

Now, $500 is nothing to sneeze at, but let’s kick things up a notch!

Let’s say that you just bought a new house, and you need to equip it with appliances. Would it be safe to say that you could potentially spend $1500 on each new stainless steel appliance? The dishwasher might not cost that much, but the refrigerator and laundry pair could easily eclipse the $1500 mark.

I know someone who recently paid $5000 for their refrigerator. Seriously.

So, using this math, you buy 5 shiny new appliances at $1500 each. That’s $7500 total…ouch!

You still with me? : )

NEW VS. USED

Ok, let’s pretend that you are suddenly an extremely frugal version of yourself, so rather than head for the appliance Megastore, you source gently used appliances via Craigslist, or your local Buy & Sell.

In this case, I would suggest that $500 per appliance would be reasonable, and I’m probably being conservative.

So, rather than spending $7500, with a bit of hard work and ingenuity, you spend $2500.

Congratulations, you’re now $5000 richer than you would have been buying everything new!

Using these two scenarios, it’s easy to imagine having less stress by choosing to be frugal with even a few select purchases.

EXPONENTIAL FRUGALITY: IT’S ALL ABOUT FUTURE VALUE.

The examples I’ve provided represent how most of us think about frugality. You can either avoid making a purchase outright, or find a more inexpensive way of doing so, and then relish in the immediate savings.

But if that’s all frugality means to you, your missing out. If you follow a couple of rules, the money you saved up front is really just the tip of the iceberg. In other words, by investing the money you decided NOT to spend, and calculating it’s future value, the savings grow exponentially over time.

The concept is mind-numbingly simple. So simple that you’re probably wondering why it took me 800 words to reach my point….which is this:

Any money that you don’t spend, is money that remains invested.

This is where the ‘rules’ come in. If you’re buying things with credit, any money ‘saved’ is not being invested, and it’s also not a frugal purchase. Furthermore, if you decide to celebrate your frugal win by blowing the money you saved on something you don’t need, then you won’t realize Exponential Frugality, because the savings is also no longer invested.

So, under the assumption that your spending comes out of your savings/investments, or the money you chose NOT to spend is instead transferred into an investment, it will continue to grow, with the benefit of compounding interest.

Recalling the appliance purchase, let’s look at the numbers. The first example is how most of us calculate money saved by being frugal:

Here’s where we shift our thinking. Let’s assume the $5000 that wasn’t spent remains in a long term investment for 10 years:

Here is the future value of the $5000, after 10 years, assuming an average annual return of 6.0%:

That’s right! $9,110! If you had purchased the new appliances, your $7500 would have been gone. Instead, you kept $5000 in the market for 10 years, and you now have $9,110.

Being frugal saved you $5000. Exponential frugality has earned you an additional $4,110.

Let’s stretch it out over 20 years:

And, here is your future value:

There you have it. By choosing to be frugal, and then keeping your excess funds invested, you could be $16,000+ richer 20 years down the road.

This is Exponential Frugality. Don’t stop at thinking you saved $5000. Over 20 years, the savings grew by $11,600!

Takeaways:

You can use this exercise with all of your spending decisions, even the Starbucks latte.

The principle here is that you spend only once you’ve saved money, rather than using credit. If funds are coming from another source, invest the difference (money saved).

You could make the argument that used items won’t last as long, requiring replacement earlier, but in most cases, it doesn’t hold water. First of all, things aren’t built to last anymore, and new technology is often more costly to repair, or requires replacement altogether. If cared for properly, a lightly used item will last for many, many years.

One more thing, to keep the calculation simple, I didn’t index the future value for inflation.

What are your thoughts on the idea of calculating the future value of money saved from frugal living? Please share in the comments below!

]]>http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/exponential-frugality-uncovering-the-true-potential-of-your-thrifty-purchase/feed/82063HOW I OVERCAME A SERIOUS CASE OF FINCON FOMOhttp://www.mysterymoneyman.com/how-i-dealt-with-a-serious-case-of-fincon-fomo/
http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/how-i-dealt-with-a-serious-case-of-fincon-fomo/#commentsWed, 08 Nov 2017 01:27:34 +0000http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/?p=2034I have a confession to make. This past week, I came down with a MAJOR case of FINCON FOMO. That’s right. This debilitating condition had me in it’s clutches for a few days, until I finally managed to wriggle myself from its grasp. Now, I realize that some of you are unfamiliar with both of these acronyms. “What the h&%$ ...

This past week, I came down with a MAJOR case of FINCON FOMO. That’s right. This debilitating condition had me in it’s clutches for a few days, until I finally managed to wriggle myself from its grasp.

Now, I realize that some of you are unfamiliar with both of these acronyms. “What the h&%$ is a FINCON? FOMO? Sounds like one crazy illness!”

I can assure you, I’m ok. In fact, depending on who you talk to last time I checked, I have all of my faculties. I’m perfectly healthy.

To clarify, FinCon is an annual conference of financial content creators: money bloggers, authors, fintech startups, sponsors, you name it. Every fall, almost 2000 money geeks converge upon a hotel/conference centre for a few days of networking, workshops, mentoring. This year’s conference was held in Dallas, TX, and by all accounts it was incredible.

FOMO is the acronym for the ‘Fear Of Missing Out’. And miss out I did! At least, that was the overwhelming feeling I had after seeing the pictures from FinCon, and reading all about it.

WHEN AND HOW DID MY FOMO OCCUR?

In my mind, there were two things that contributed to my feeling of FOMO:

The first came out of my desire to connect.

As a personal finance blogger, I belong to an incredible community. I’ve been at this for just over a year, and during that time I’ve met (online) so many amazing bloggers. We support each other’s writing, and send help and tips back and forth. We encourage each other, and share some great stories. So, when an opportunity presents itself to go and hang out with these fine folks in person for 3 or 4 days, it’s something you naturally want to do. I would suggest that the desire is even stronger as an anonymous blogger, because at the best of times you’re fighting the urge to cast the mask aside, and say (insert sappy background music) “Hey, can we be friends!?!”

The second part of my FOMO was the result of reading through the sheer volume of “FinCon recap” posts, the accounts of so many bloggers who attended, sharing their experiences. It goes without saying that the collective impression was that it was incredible. Life-changing is a term that was thrown around more than once, and I don’t doubt it one bit!

Don’t get me wrong. I loved reading the reviews on FinCon, and I appreciated the conference being covered from the many different angles. But as I read through post after post, and scrolled through my Twitter feed day after day, certain feelings began to seep into my consciousness that were tough to suppress.

SELF DOUBT

I began to feel some self-doubt about my own blogging efforts. Had I missed an opportunity to ‘take my blog to the next level’? Is my not being at FinCon an indication of my level of commitment? Sounds silly, but these thoughts crossed my mind. There was also the feeling of just plain-old missing out on the fun!

In the midst of this, as is often my routine, I went to my local coffee shop for a writing session. I usually go late at night, after 10 PM, when I know it’ll be reasonably quiet. But I didn’t get anything done. I found myself continually distracted by my Twitter feed, which kept the aforementioned feelings top of mind. After midnight, I went home empty handed.

FOMO REPREIVE

I had a wonderful FOMO reprieve over the weekend. My wife and I had a chance to get away for a couple of days, for some much needed alone time. This is something we make a point to do once a year, or so. Our daughters visited their grandparents for the weekend, and our 17-year old son stayed home and looked after the dogs. We got a cabin in the woods (literally), and the timing could not have been more perfect. The evening we arrived, we got about ten inches of snow, which created an absolute winter wonderland. It was nothing short of magical. In case you’re interested, this recent post will provide a full understanding on my feelings about winter.

Anyways, getting away meant turning off technology for a couple of days, thus the FOMO eased significantly. By the way, if you’re married with kids, getaways are essential. Your spouse is your most important investment, never forget that! (I can assure you, that last line will never end up in a note or anniversary card to my wife, hardly Hallmark material

HOW I CURED MY FOMO

Upon returning from our weekend trip, and getting back onto social media, I realized that the FOMO was quickly returning. I now hadn’t written a new post in over a week, and the feelings of self-doubt lingered.

I knew that I needed to tackle it head on. If there’s one thing I’m learning, it’s to not allow fear of any kind take hold in my life, no matter how small or insignificant.

Recognizing this, I took the first step to get over my FINCON FOMO. I made a point to support as many of my fellow bloggers as possible by promoting their FINCON reports, and other recent posts. I commented, shared, Re-Tweeted their stuff. I looked for opportunities to chat with them on social media, email etc.

Needless to say, I quickly noticed a change in my mindset.

My preoccupation with missing out on FINCON was replaced by a desire to promote the experience and growth of my fellow bloggers. It was a great feeling!

In my experience, when I become too fixated on my own issues, or situation, the quickest remedy is to shift the focus from myself onto others, where it should be. Because of my fear of missing out, I was becoming selfish. That’s not a good thing.

MY OWN GIFT HORSE

This morning, finally over my FOMO, I received some unexpected, yet much needed blogging inspiration.

Solving the Side Hustle Problem

My wife has this super cool side hustle, where she farm-sits from time to time. She’s never lived on a farm, but worked at a vet clinic for a few years, and is amazing with animals in general. So, people pay her very well to feed and care for their animals while they’re away. This week, she’s looking after a few horses, donkeys, a dog and some cats on a nearby farm. I happen to be on vacation, which allowed me to tag along for her farm visit this morning.

A big focus for this blog has become helping people solve the side hustle problem. I’m drawing on my own experiences at building side hustles that work, in order to help others discover their own.

Standing by the barn, (while cornered by two horses who were in my face, preoccupied by the carrots I had for them), a feeling of contentedness came over me. I’m watching my wife laughing, while she directs the animals around the yard. And I realize that she’s doing just that. Solving the side hustle problem.

She’s discovered the ideal mix in a side hustle: passion, aptitude, profitability, and market demand.

In another time, we might not have recognized this opportunity. But blogging, along with our work with side hustles, has shifted that mindset.

In the past I’ve written about the importance of celebrating small wins. This morning made for a great example of why.

SO…AM I GOING TO FINCON 2018?

The short answer is…I don’t know. Make no mistake, I’d love to. I’ll admit, after reading so many positive reviews, and noticing that next year’s destination is Orlando, there was a real temptation to snap up early bird tickets and book a hotel. I realized, however, that I would be making the purchase based solely on emotion, out of my FOMO.

I’ll make a decision on FinCon’18 at a later date, when my head is clear, and I’ve had a chance to take into account my family’s other plans for 2018. My son graduates from high school in June. There is the annual Mystery Money Super Frugal Road Trip, and you never know what other adventure Mrs. Mystery Money and I might dream up.

For the time being, I’ll save the date. Sep. 26-29th. See you there?

If you want to see the video evidence of horses up in my face looking for carrots, you can check it out right here, on Instagram. : )

Have you ever dealt with FOMO? If so, I’d love to hear about it. Feel share your story in the comments below, or send me an email anytime!

]]>http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/how-i-dealt-with-a-serious-case-of-fincon-fomo/feed/122034AFFORDABLE WINTER TIRES: HOW I SAVED OVER $600http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/saved-600-winter-tires/
http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/saved-600-winter-tires/#commentsWed, 25 Oct 2017 05:39:41 +0000http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/?p=2017Winter is on my brain this week, thanks to a major frugal win! Before I fill you in on all the money saving goodness, let’s address the years coldest season! I know what you’re probably thinking; it’s far too early to be mentioning snow and cold! If you live in Canada or the northern U.S. however, the reality is setting ...

]]>Winter is on my brain this week, thanks to a major frugal win! Before I fill you in on all the money saving goodness, let’s address the years coldest season!

I know what you’re probably thinking; it’s far too early to be mentioning snow and cold!

If you live in Canada or the northern U.S. however, the reality is setting in, winter is just around the corner.

The very thought brings out mixed reactions in people. My kids, for example, cannot wait for the first snowfall, along with the various winter-related activities that follow: skating, tobogganing, hockey, curling, snow forts and snowball fights, you name it.

Meanwhile, there are those who absolutely dread winters arrival, which is understandable, because it can be downright long and nasty in some areas of the country.

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

My feelings on the coldest season of the year tend to fall somewhere in the middle. In other words, I love winter to a point. A point which usually arrives around January 2nd.

Before January, I’m a lot like my kids. I love seeing that first snowfall, and I become overly sentimental about the entire Christmas season. However, once the glow of the holidays are over and the temperatures begin their plunge to frigid levels, I’ve had about enough.

From that time, until I hear birds chirping in the spring, nothing less than sheer will and endurance gets me through. In fact, when I’m up against the season’s relentless assault, I may sometimes be found mumbling incoherently, wondering aloud why we live where we do. We have a choice after all.

Anyhow, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with all of this. After all, it’s still relatively warm in most places.

One of the unfortunate realities of living in a northern climate is having to buy winter tires for your vehicle. While it’s not required by law in most areas (it is in some), winter tires are MUCH safer when driving on snow, ice or even just cold pavement. In fact, they can improve a vehicle’s stopping distance upwards of 30-40 % in certain conditions. Given this, along with the fact that we have a relatively new driver in the house, I consider winter tires to be a necessity.

SAFETY HAS A PRICE

While it is wise to own winter tires, it’s also very expensive. On our Toyota Sienna, a set of good quality, brand new Michelin tires, runs about $1100. This includes rims, installation and taxes!

In the past, I’ve opted for the ease of buying new, but not this year. After all, if you are willing to embrace a minor amount of inconvenience by buying used, you can save A LOT of money.

In the case of my winter tire purchase, that savings turned out to be $670! Here’s how:

STEP-BY-STEP – A FRUGAL WIN

Step 1. Rather than take the convenient route and buy brand new, I scoured Kijiji (Canadian Craigslist) for a high quality, gently used set of winter tires. Within 24 hours, I located a set of Goodyear Nordic Tracks which looked to be in near mint condition. They were listed at $475 obo.

Step 2. I texted the seller, who explained that the tires had only been used for one season, and had almost no wear on them, 2-3 thousand miles tops. He had traded in his Sienna for an SUV (not a great move), and no longer needed the tires.

Step.3 I stopped by his house that evening to check them out. They came exactly as advertised, in fact they looked brand new. They were already mounted on a set of rims as well. I offered him $400, and he quickly accepted.

Step 4. A couple of days later, I had the tires installed and balanced for $30.

SUMMARY

For my winter tire purchase, I was initially quoted $1100 for a new set, including rims and installation. Instead, I did a brief search on my iPhone and found a similar set, slightly used, for a total cost of $430. The bottom line, I saved $670, or over 60%!

Have you had any frugal wins lately? If so, please share your story with a comment below. I’d love to hear about them!

]]>http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/saved-600-winter-tires/feed/82017WHAT I’M DOING TO IMPROVE THE READER EXPERIENCEhttp://www.mysterymoneyman.com/im-improve-reader-experience/
http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/im-improve-reader-experience/#commentsFri, 20 Oct 2017 06:09:53 +0000http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/?p=1951Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve begun to make a number of small changes to this blog. The goal is simple: to improve the reader experience for anyone visiting Mystery Money Man. This is, of course, an ongoing effort. Over the past year, I’ve made improvements as I’ve become more proficient with the craft of blogging, and running a ...

]]>Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve begun to make a number of small changes to this blog. The goal is simple: to improve the reader experience for anyone visiting Mystery Money Man.

This is, of course, an ongoing effort. Over the past year, I’ve made improvements as I’ve become more proficient with the craft of blogging, and running a website. While I still have a lot to learn, it’s really important to me that navigating this blog is as pleasant and effortless as can be.

Today I’m sharing with you a few changes I’ve either made recently, or am in the process of implementing. I should also let you know that I welcome your feedback about anything related to this site, so please feel free to comment, drop me an email, or DM me over on Twitter anytime!

ADVERTISEMENTS

Recently, I took some time to browse through some of my posts, in order to get a better understanding of the reading experience. I did this both on the desktop and mobile versions of the site. I noticed that the placement of some of the advertisements interfere with the flow of the content, and its readability.

To date, the only advertising I’ve run on Mystery Money Man is via Google Adsense. The reason I do this is to help offset the costs of operating the site, ie. hosting fees & related expenses. I try to run my blog as a business, and negating the operating costs is one example of this. That said, I’m not happy with how some of the ad content appears on the site, so I’ve decided to make some changes.

As such, for the time being, I’ve removed the Adsense content altogether. I may reinstall ads at some point in the future, but minimally, and ONLY in areas that are away from the post content. For example, in the footer at the very bottom of the page.

SHOULD BLOGGERS DISPLAY ADS?

Bloggers often battle with the decision of whether or not to run ads. I fully respect those who opt out entirely, as it does allow for a clutter free reading experience on a well designed site. At the same time, I personally enjoy reading many blogs that display ads throughout their pages. In other words, ads are not something that have turned me off of a great website or blog.

For the time being, Mystery Money Man is ad-free. If and when they do return, I can assure you the presence will be minimal, and in a way that does not interfere from your reading experience!

IMPROVING PAGE LOAD SPEED

A key to making any web browsing experience effortless is to reduce the time that it takes for a web page to load. No one wants to sit idly, watching the blue ‘progress bar’ move ever so slowly across their browser, wondering if the page will eventually appear. During the life of my blog, I’ve taken several steps to improve site performance, including the removal of unnecessary plug ins, and by implementing a number of SEO tactics to achieve improved navigation.

OPTIMIZING IMAGES

Most recently, I’ve begun to re-size and compress the featured images on the site. While this means reduced clarity of some of the images, it should help to boost the page load speed, which I think is a tradeoff worth making.

AMAZON AFFILIATE RELATIONSHIP

I have a few affiliate relationships on the site. To be honest, with the exception of a few plugs for Booking.com, I have not focused on affiliate marketing. Long term this might change, as I identify more products and resources which I believe can really make a difference for people. I need to keep my focus on what’s most important, which is creating quality content which can inform and hopefully inspire.

On that note, I’ve decided to cancel my Amazon Affiliate relationship. While I occasionally buy products on Amazon, and I believe that online shopping can save families a lot of money, I don’t have a comfort level with encouraging others to spend on impulse.

Frugality lies at the foundation of this blog, after all. : )

FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS

Guest Posting Guidelines

Like many bloggers, I receive a lot of requests for guest posts (almost daily), and during the past year I’ve been thrilled to feature many wonderful writers on the blog! I plan to continue accepting guest posts, however I realize that I’ve never created a set of guidelines for prospective ‘posters’ to follow. It’s something I plan to add in the near future. This will undoubtedly improve the experience for the guest poster, while ensuring the content they’re sharing aligns closely with the values of this blog.

Revamped About/Bio Page

I will be re-writing the ABOUT page of this blog in the near future. The current bio was written before I launched Mystery Money Man. Since then, my vision/direction for the site has changed so much that it doesn’t feel as relevant today.

Interactive Content

One of my dreams for Mystery Money Man is for it to become a true community, a destination where people know they can connect with other readers, contribute to the content and to the greater conversation. Longer term, this might involve introducing new formats such as a podcast, or other media. In the short term, I would like to provide new ways for readers to provide feedback, via polls and surveys for example. These could be embedded in the site, on social media, or included in my email updates to subscribers. Consider that a ‘coming soon’!

SUMMARY

None of the changes I’ve announced above are incredibly significant on their own. Each one is a small step towards what I hope is a positive direction. My belief is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

It’s truly amazing what you can accomplish when you understand that the journey is a marathon, and not a sprint. It’s true with any large undertaking; your career development, side hustle, artistic endeavour, even your personal relationships.

]]>http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/im-improve-reader-experience/feed/141951INSIDE THE MYSTERY MONEY SIDE HUSTLE MAPhttp://www.mysterymoneyman.com/inside-the-mystery-money-side-hustle-map/
http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/inside-the-mystery-money-side-hustle-map/#commentsMon, 09 Oct 2017 21:42:23 +0000http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/?p=1894Updated October 9/2017 Welcome to the Home of the Original Side Hustle Map! If you’re a regular reader, you know that side hustles are close to my ❤️. Whether the goal is to make a little extra money doing something you enjoy, or to build a new career while working away at your 9-5, the side hustle is accessible to ...

If you’re a regular reader, you know that side hustles are close to my .

Whether the goal is to make a little extra money doing something you enjoy, or to build a new career while working away at your 9-5, the side hustle is accessible to anyone. In fact, that statement has never been more true than in the present.

Recently, I decided to create a map of my side hustles. I thought it would be a great way to visualize the various projects I’m working on (including this blog), while getting a sense of how well they align with each other. This was a great exercise, and the map has become something that I plan to review and update periodically over time. Along with the map, I’ve provided detail on each of my side hustles, including the income they are currently generating. Most importantly, I share my key learnings, which I hope you’ll find helpful. Enjoy!

Over the past few months, I’ve done a lot of reading on entrepreneurship and side hustles. I’ve also had a chance to interact with several of my readers, and peruse the comment sections of a number of side hustle-related posts from various blogs.

Out of this, a common theme emerged. That is, the number of people who expressed how difficult it is for them to earn more income, or to find their ideal side hustle.

This certainly wasn’t a surprise, as I know first hand how tough it can be to find ways to make more money.

Many people find entrepreneurship, (which is what most side hustles are), and the path to success, to be very elusive.

SOLVING THE SIDE HUSTLE PROBLEM

From my own experience with side hustles so far, and the interactions I’ve had, I’ve decided that one of my goals with this blog in the coming year is to help people solve the ‘side hustle problem’.

More specifically, I want to help you, my readers, answer the following questions:

“What’s the right side hustle for me?”

“How do I make my side hustle dream a reality?”

This is not an easy task. For starters, most of us must overcome a number of barriers on our way to success, often before we can even begin. Whether it’s fear, gaps in our skill set, or that we have no clue how to move from our current situation, the idea of stepping out and doing something new can be overwhelming.

I’ve got good news. All of these are factors are within your ability to change.

I began my own side hustle journey a year ago, and I’ll be honest, I’m still in the early stages. In no way have I got it all figured out. I’ve made plenty of mistakes and I’m learning as I go. I’m still sorting out what fits and what doesn’t. I’m also discovering weaknesses and fears I didn’t even know I had.

MY SIDE HUSTLE MAP

I thought it would be cool to create a map of my current side hustles, and share with you my insights on each one. Without further ado, and in no particular order, here is my list of side hustles from the map I’ve created:

MYSTERY MONEY MAN (BLOG)

Launch Date: August 2016

Why I began this side hustle: To be frank, I got into blogging as a way to earn income. Fortunately, I also saw it as a creative outlet, an opportunity to write about topics I care about (consumerism, frugality, parenting, family finances), and hopefully inspiring a few people along the way.

Why I’m still still at it: A year in, I’m much less interested in any income the blog earns. That’s because as a side hustle, it serves a greater purpose. A blog is an incredible skill development tool and a powerful idea generator. Most importantly, it’s enabled me to connect with a tonne of amazing people! I would say that for these reasons, anyone interested in starting a business of any kind should have a blog.

Est. Current Annual Income: The blog itself has generated a few hundred dollars from a few affiliate links and a Google Adsense account, which is just enough to cover the website hosting costs. As is the case with most bloggers, I constantly receive requests to run sponsored posts, but I have no interest in promoting content that doesn’t align with my values, and I’ve turned down every one.

Est. Income Potential: Theoretically, unlimited.

Key Learnings: As I mentioned above, don’t start out striving to earn income directly from your blog. That may happen over time, but it’s better viewed as a platform to develop your skill sets, a way to reach an audience and generate ideas for other potential side hustles.

MUSIC PRODUCTION/ SONGWRITING

Launch Date: December 2016.

Why I started this side hustle: To make a long story short, I have a killer recording studio in my basement. If you’re interested in the backstory, you can check it out here. For several years, I used this space solely for recording my own material, but a few months after starting my blog (remember, incredible idea generator!), I realized that I had all the ingredients to develop a side hustle recording music for other artists.

Why I’m still still at it: It’s something I love to do. What my early experience has taught me though is to ‘niche down’ further. I took on a huge project; tracking, producing, mixing and mastering a 12 song album this year. I had a blast, but it was far too time intensive. If I decide to maintain this side hustle, I’ll focus on a specific component of recording, rather than be involved in the entire process. ie. tracking or mix engineering.

Estimated current annual income: Approx $2500. I should mention that on the recording side, I undercharged BIG TIME this year. I’m ok with that, as it was a new venture and I wanted to ensure I was adding value.

Included in the income above are my songwriting royalties This income is minimal, but it’s my favourite type because it’s purely passive. Once a song is written and published, there is zero work involved. In fact, I wrote a song in 2001 that I still receive a small cheque for in the mail every 3 months. It’ll only buy me a couple of coffees, but it’s the nicest feeling : )

Estimated Income Potential: Going forward, I could charge up to $500/song, depending on the services requested. At the moment, this is probably the side hustle I can make the most money at, but it’s also the one I’m focusing on the least as it lacks a passive income component…translation, it’s time INTENSIVE! It could be a 5 figure/year business if I wanted to invest the time, but that would mean having to drop other, more important things.

Key Learnings: You can start off being a generalist, but It’s important to find your niche. What are you uniquely qualified to do? Probably more than you realize. Also, know what you’re worth, and don’t be afraid to ask for it.

BroGoLogo

Date Launched: Early 2017

Why (we) started this side hustle: If you’re a regular reader, you may be sick of hearing about BroGoLogo. If not, you can catch up with the story here. BroGoLogo is a boutique logo design startup that I helped to launch in early 2017 along with a close friend of mine, named Jay. (He does have a last name, btw). BroGoLogo is really his baby, as he runs the day to day operation and is the chief designer. In short, he’s the straw that stirs the drink. I occasionally provide input on the designs, and help with promo and communication where I can.

Why I’m still still at it: Personally, I love the opportunity to collaborate, something Jay and I have done with several creative projects over the years. I also see the enormous potential to scale this business, if there comes a point where we want to do that. My involvement is mostly passive right now, but this could change in the future.

Estimated current annual income: Current revenue would be mid- 4 figures. The bulk of BrogoLogo income is earned by Jay, for logo design work. For clients that I’ve sourced, he sends me a share of revenue, which is completely unnecessary but appreciated. As I mentioned prior, I can’t complain about passive income! In it’s first 9 months of operation, this side hustle has found success by delivering a premium product with speed, not to mention a very high level of service, if you ask me.

Estimated Income Potential: With the business model we’ve put in place, and some hard work, this could easily be a 5 figure business.

Key Learnings: BroGoLogo has helped me gain a better understanding of the enormous potential of online business (aka technology is your friend!) In other words, you have access to a global market from the comfort of your home office. We have never met the majority of BrogoLogo clients (although we would love to!), nor have we done any advertising outside of social media. Another thing, any chance you have to collaborate with your side hustle, take it. Don’t be a lone ranger. As a songwriter, I’ve learned that collaboration can take your creativity to the next level, not to mention your productivity.

Also, seek out people who have different skill sets than you. They can help to compensate for your gaps, and vice versa.

WHAT DID YOU NOTICE ABOUT THESE SIDE HUSTLES?

There are 2 characteristics that each of my side hustles share. This is by design, and both are very important to me.

#1. They allow for location independence and can be run from a MacBook Pro…

…or setting aside my personal biases, any other computer. One of the requirements I have for any side hustle is that I can run it from a hotel room or in an RV. This is just my personal preference, (and potentially a hint to future plans for my wife and I. In case you’re wondering about the music production side of things, aside from tracking certain instruments, most work can be done remotely on my laptop. Programming, editing, mixing, all I need is my Macbook, a small MIDI controller, and my mixing headphones.

#2. They are all scalable.

What this means is that with a lot of hard work, I, and in the case of BroGoLogo we, can increase the size and scale of all of these businesses. That doesn’t mean it’ll happen with each one, but the potential to scale exists.

Not everyone cares about being able to scale their side hustle, and that’s ok. Either way, it’s something you should think about. Is your side hustle dream simply to make some extra cash as a complement to your main source of income, or are you wanting to someday replace your current career altogether. If so, than you want to think scale.

ANNOUNCEMENT!

You may have noticed one other side hustle on my map which I didn’t detail above! I’ll give you a hint. It’s the section that’s greyed-out due to the fact that it’s not yet active, but something I’m super excited about!

I’ve decided to launch a digital marketing side hustle in the coming months! This is the result of months of consideration, not to mention discussions with my wife and other people close to me.

The fact is, everything I’ve learned from running a blog and being involved in an online business has steered me towards digital marketing as a side hustle.

It meets my criteria of location independence. And yes, I can run it entirely on my laptop. It’s also something I can customize to my family life. My #1 priority is that of husband and dad, after all

NEXT STEPS

Have I got it all figured out? Heck, no! One thing I’ve learned is that the best thing to do is take action. If your goal is to be 100% ready before trying something new, you’ll never start.

Before taking on clients, one thing I am going to do to further prepare is take a digital marketing course during the next few months. I’ll have more details on that later on!

So, please stay tuned! My side hustle map may look different in a number of months. In the meantime, I hope I’ve been able to inspire you on your side hustle journey in some small way.

Cheers,

-MMM

PS. I’d love to hear more about your side hustles, your successes as well as the things you’ve struggled with! Please feel free to share you story in the comments below, or by sending me an email anytime.

]]>http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/inside-the-mystery-money-side-hustle-map/feed/121894OUT OF MY MIND: FULL TIME INTERNET MARKETER SHARES HIS STORYhttp://www.mysterymoneyman.com/out-of-my-mind-full-time-internet-marketer-shares-his-story/
http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/out-of-my-mind-full-time-internet-marketer-shares-his-story/#commentsFri, 22 Sep 2017 03:37:25 +0000http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/?p=1851Hey freedom fighters! I’ve got a guest post today from Brent Truitt, a full time internet marketer and part time blogger. Brent blogs over at DebtFiles.com, where he shares the stories of real people and their struggles with debt. Brent has a very entertaining writing style, (trust me, you won’t be bored!) so when I had the chance to host him ...

]]>Hey freedom fighters! I’ve got a guest post today from Brent Truitt, a full time internet marketer and part time blogger. Brent blogs over at DebtFiles.com, where he shares the stories of real people and their struggles with debt. Brent has a very entertaining writing style, (trust me, you won’t be bored!) so when I had the chance to host him on this site, I jumped at it.

One of my goals in the coming year is to help readers figure out ways to build additional streams of income, in a way that fits with their lifestyle. In this post, Brent explains how he and his wife built an online business, were able to leave the 9-5, get out of debt and find financial freedom. Enjoy! – MMM

Ah yes, my favorite subject. I don’t get to talk about Internet marketing and online income very often. I still passionately believe it’s the best way to make money, and I think everyone should jump in with both feet, but it makes most people puke when go on and on about it.

When I first started my online business back in 2003, they couldn’t shut me up. I was so excited about being my own boss and making a full time living from the comfort of our home. I would rattle on about it like a strung out meth-head, and my family thought I was out of my mind.
And they were right.

Out Of My Mind

I was surely out of my mind. I was no longer thinking about the normal problems and issues a typical human being deals with. I had the horse blinders on and I was going to make it or die trying. Every morning I leapt out of bed to get back on the computer. I didn’t have time for bitching, moaning, gossiping, or worrying. I had a dream and there wasn’t a chance I was going to let that dream go.
My coworkers already knew that I was a “little off my rocker” in the first place, so they chalked it up as just another fantasy I was going on about. It was good back then, because at least they didn’t think I was bragging. I hadn’t made a penny from the Internet yet (poet), so I wasn’t looked upon as a douche (well…I hope not). No right-minded Canadian wants to be a braggart, or thought of as a braggart.
Humility is in the water up here.
But that all changed. Three years later my wife and I were making double the income of the highest paid pilots in Air Canada (the company my wife I both worked for). Even worse (better), we were making that kind of money from our house, with no boss, no jobs, no schedules, no hassles, and no headaches (I’ll explain exactly how we did that below).
My coworkers and family saw me quit my job as an aircraft mechanic, and give up sixteen years seniority. Two years later my wife gave up her job as a flight attendant. Some folks still think we’re both bat-shit crazy for giving up the security, benefits, flight privileges, and pension.
Success feels great, but I miss rambling on about the magic of online income. I don’t bring up our work, or my dream of doing nothing anymore (we’ll get into the irony of that Office Space quote a little further down). As soon as everyone realized we were living the dream, I couldn’t talk about it anymore. Almost everyone saw it as bragging.

Bragging? Not Bragging?

But damn it! I didn’t think I was bragging! I was trying get them all “into it”. I was building their first websites for them. I was showing them how to get traffic. I was showing them HTML and basic web design. I was showing them how they could be free of their jobs if they didn’t like “working for the man” anymore. And I wouldn’t just force the subject in conversation either. I would wait until they started complaining about their jobs first. THEN I would introduce them to the idea.
The odd person would accept my help and go on to make a full time living online, and some just created an extra monthly income from their websites. But the vast majority published a few pieces of decent content and quit (not for everyone).
So I learned to shut up about it.

Welcome To The Milk Bar

But once again the magic of the Internet saves the day. I can write a post like this, and if you’re not interested in making money online (or think it’s some kind of scam and nobody really makes a full time living doing it) you don’t have to wait for dinner to be over to get rid of me – you can just hit the back button.
But for those of you who go to the same milk bar as I do, and dream like my droogs do, you will either learn something you didn’t know, or at the very least be entertained a wee bit (here’s hoping).

Anyone Can Do It

There is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to making money online, but there’s once falsehood that grinds my gears (yep…Peter Griffin) more than any. The lie that it’s not real. Some people fervently believe that making a full time living from the comfort of your own home is just a pipe dream – a sordid scam sold by snake oil salesmen at the County fair.
Then there’s lie told by marketers trying to convince you that you need their “special one time, time sensitive offer” to succeed. And some people claim you need to be a tech wiz kid to succeed, or that you need to be an amazing writer.
It’s all baloney. Green and quivering-in-the-back-of-the-old-fridge baloney.
Anyone can do it. Here is the list of reasons why I shouldn’t have succeeded, according to naysayers:

I was too old – I was in my forties when I started and most believed I couldn’t compete with smart young “tech-savvy” entrepreneurs

I had no experience – I only knew how to use email when I started (HTML….WTF!)

I’m lazy – Just a month ago or so, one our dear friends said their family was having a big dinner and they all jokingly agreed I was the laziest person they know. In some ways they’re right. To this day, one of my favorite bits in a novel is the one from Catch-22 where the main character Yossarian is very proud of all the officer’s clubs built on American barracks during the Korean War. Proud because he had absolutely nothing to do with building them.

I’m not very smart – Yep. To know me is to be frustrated. I was always one of the slowest kids in the class, and I’m still usually the slowest adult in the room. Trying to explain a new idea to me is a painful experience.

I’m not patient – I hate waiting for anything

It was too late – when I started there was a meme going around that the only people who can succeed online were those who started a long time ago when the Internet was young. The theory being that the competition wasn’t minimal in the past, and the competition NOW is untouchable

Okay. Enough truth talking. The list is actually longer, but I’m starting to bore you.
Let’s talk about you.
If you have the same dream, I am here to tell you that it can come true regardless of any impediments you have. Don’t believe me – say hello to Jon.
All you need to do is get in there and do it. Just like the annoying cliché the self-help gurus have been pounding into ours head for decades. I know it’s tired, we’re tired, and I know you might be thinking you don’t have the energy to take on such a “massive challenge”.
But you do.

How Did I (we) Do It

So now let’s get into the how. How did an old, lazy, potato head manage to become financially free from the comfort of his home?
I started by building my first website. I went to the public library and got some books on basic web design, and I used the Internet to download some basic HTML templates. It was all very crude, and it was 4 years before I was introduced to WordPress. That first hurdle of just building my first HTML page was brutal for me. I think it took me three weeks just to get a basic handle on how it all worked.
I didn’t take the snake oil salesman seriously and made a critical decision early on. I wasn’t going to get involved with any tricks and schemes designed to manipulate the search engines. It was a good call.
I never worried about inbound links, and fancy splash pages. I didn’t use software to manipulate Google or Yahoo. I focused on making sure my website was clean. No annoying popups, and clear text so visitors could click AdSense when their eyes came across an ad they were interested in (in those days AdSense was my only income stream).
Very basic. Like I said, I’m a slow learner. My first website was called Golf-Equipment-4u.com, and it’s long gone now. I got rid of the domain years later, but I shouldn’t have. They all make a trickle (insert light bulb here).

And It Didn’t Work

Nope. The only traffic I got was if I spelled something wrong on a page. Since my misspelling was “unique”, I would get the odd hit when someone using Google misspelled the golf equipment they were looking for.
So I started looking for ways to get paid traffic. I experimented with the idea by building a very crude website specifically for the purpose of selling motorcycle helmets. I placed my AdSense code on every page, and then I signed up for an advertiser account with Yahoo. I struggled to figure out their system. On my first tests I spent more money that what I made from AdSense.
But after a few tests it worked!
I’ll never forget the feeling I had when we started making $10 dollars a day. Then $50 dollars a day. In a year we were making as much as I made when I worked for the airlines. In 18 months I was making as much as my boss did at the airlines. Two years later I was making more than the captain of a 747 doing long-haul runs to South East Asia. Three years later it was double that.
The way we grew our income to that level was by building more websites, and buying more PPC advertising from Yahoo and other sources. My wife Betty took over all the PPC work so I could focus on building more websites. We had a few websites on motorcycle equipment, golf equipment, satellite TV installs, rider lawn mowers…you name it.
That was a great run we had.

But It Always Changes

That basic model sustained us for half a decade. What a life. We travelled a lot, bought a motorhome, started golfing, and paid off a ton of debt. Those were exciting times, but it all changed.
Our model was starting to make less profit each month, and I decided we had to start getting traffic to our websites organically. That really scared me because I didn’t think I could compete. I wasn’t sure I could write well enough to publish attractive content. Content that would be useful to people AND worthy of search engine ranking.
But I went ahead and launched my first WordPress blog. It was all about satellite TV installations. I was worried that I couldn’t come up with anything to write about. I mean there’s not much to it is there? You call up the provider, they come over in a van, and an hour later you’ve got more channels that you could count.

The Trick That Worked

Okay. You’ve probably been thinking, “Oh yeah, here we go again. The dude is going to string out a bunch of bullshit about his success, while promising to tell me exactly what his trick was, and then tell me it’s all about Social Media, blogging, networking (sucking up to gurus), and mastering SEO. And even more nauseating, he’s going to offer me his best-in-the-world-one-of-a-kind-time-sensitive eBook!”
So nope. Not gonna to tell you that.
In my attempt to create fresh new content for my affiliate and AdSense websites, I experimented with writing fictional accounts about people using the products or services I was promoting. All of these yarns, fables, and bedtime stories were pure fabrication. They almost always resulted in a happy ending, whereby my protagonist rides off into the sunset with their new satellite TV system, car loan, or home cleaning widget.
The experiment worked, and it still works today. The search engines have been changing of late, so it doesn’t work as well, but it’s still paying our bills (+ some). Three months of 2016 we made over $20k USD clear profit. These last few months we’re making less than half that. But we have no debt, and $280k in savings from the good years.
To do this we have over 50 websites on very specific niche products and services. We use affiliate links but we use almost everything under the sun for monetizing our pages.
So next time you’re looking to buy a rider lawn mower and you come across some simple WordPress blog (probably page 2 or 3 of the Google search results) and it has some cheesy yarns about how great Tom, Dick, or Harry’s experience was when they bought the latest and greatest Toro, it just might be me.
I have no idea if this will work in the future, or how well it will work if it does, but I’m being honest about why we’ve been successful making a full time living for over a decade.

Someone Has To Win

We’ve had a few big valleys in the past 14 years, but then all of sudden something changes and we’re tipping boat drinks again. All I can tell you is that someone has to win. As long as Google, Bing, and Yahoo, still include organic search results, we’ll be in the game. We might be sucking ass again some day, but I’ll never quit. There is no better lifestyle.
How much money do you need to make so that you can stay home, not deal with employees, management, lawyers, office staff, unions, and commuter traffic? That’s right. You need to be a multi-millionaire who has a staff of 100% honest underlings to keep business running smoothly and not rip you off.
But it’s going to take effort. What my friends don’t know is that when I do work, I work hard. I’ll do an 18 hour day just to finish off some new website or get off a decent post (like the one you’re reading right now). But tomorrow (and the next week) they may see me doing nothing again except swimming in our pool, and playing my guitar. They don’t see the effort.

It’s Out There Forever

And to close, I want to share my other love of the Internet.
It may seem like a lot of work to write a thousand coherent words (or so), but once you click publish, that juicy piece of content starts floating in cyberspace. And if you provide just ONE nugget of wisdom, that SOME people find valuable, you’re golden. That piece of content will keep floating, getting inbound links, likes, and all the other silly badges that can be bestowed upon a simple rambling.
And that piece of content will continue to grow for you on it’s own. All you have to do is rinse and repeat. Don’t worry about linking schemes, and silly software gadgets. It’s been over 8 years since I’ve even bothered creating inbound links to my new sites to kick them off. I just make sure they all have an XML sitemap submitted to the search engines and let them find it. Not many people want to link to a website about hot tub covers anyway – and Google knows that.
When it comes to search engine optimization someone has to win. No matter what the search engines change in their algorithms, someone has to win. If you ever see your traffic slipping because of an algorithm change, just look at the “new search results”, and see what kind of content is winning. Then you have a choice.

change the content on your existing sites to be more like the new winners

or start building new websites just like the new winners and leave your old ones alone

I always choose option #2 because the search engines often change their minds, and before you know it your old style content is winning again. And when you build enough pages (sites) in different ways, the more secure you’ll be because you should always have some favorable content floating around out there making you some hard cold cash.
I hope you found at least one nugget here today.
——–END——–Brent Truitt is a full time Internet marketer and part time blogger who lives in Canada and the United States. You can connect with him on Twitter @IAmBrentTruitt or visit his personal finance blog DebtFiles.com

]]>http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/out-of-my-mind-full-time-internet-marketer-shares-his-story/feed/51851I’M DOING A NO-SPEND WEEK, WHO’S WITH ME?http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/im-doing-a-no-spend-week-whos-with-me/
http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/im-doing-a-no-spend-week-whos-with-me/#commentsMon, 18 Sep 2017 06:10:34 +0000http://www.mysterymoneyman.com/?p=1856Ah, the month of September! To me, it represents a return to order, to structure. After all, for families with children, it’s back-to-school season, which acts as a reality check of sorts for everyone involved. It’s our reminder that summer’s nonconforming ways have come and gone. I love summer. It’s always warm, and the days seem to last forever, which ...

]]>Ah, the month of September! To me, it represents a return to order, to structure. After all, for families with children, it’s back-to-school season, which acts as a reality check of sorts for everyone involved. It’s our reminder that summer’s nonconforming ways have come and gone.

I love summer. It’s always warm, and the days seem to last forever, which is perfect for spending vast quantities of time outdoors. It’s also a prime time for family adventures! But there comes a point, usually in mid to late August, where I begin to long for the routine of a more regular schedule. I’ll be honest, I’m not that productive in June, July or August.

I think kids feel the same way too. Although they’d be less likely to admit it, it’s a known fact that children thrive on structure. As such, regular meal and bed times are a GOOD thing, not to mention homework (shudder), daily chores and after school soccer practice!

I was pondering all of this today, feeling so contented that our family life is once again resembling a well-oiled machine (yes…that is stretching it), and it gave me an idea.

I thought of a way to take these ‘hyper-routine/organization-y’ feelings I have, and kick them into high gear.

Yes, that’s right! It’s time for a no-spend week.

IT’S IN THE DNA

If you’ve been a long-time reader of this blog, you may be familiar with a term I’ve coined the ‘5-day freeze’. If you’re not, you’ll definitely want to check it out.

You may also recall my somewhat epic no-spend January earlier this year. If you missed it, I went 31 days without spending a DIME on discretionary goods! Not even $2 for a coffee. I admit, it was pretty extreme, but a great experience! Not only did I save hundreds of dollars, more importantly, I gained a new level of frugality.

WHY A SPENDING FREEZE?

A spending freeze of any length is a great activity for anyone wanting to reign in their spending, supercharge their budget, or just improve their finances in general. It’s something that I do periodically, as it helps me to stay disciplined with my spending. I consider it a personal challenge, a money experiment of sorts. It reveals a lot about my mindset, in general.

HOW THE NO-SPEND WEEK WILL WORK

I’ve decided on the 7-day period between September 25th and October 1st, which falls between my pay periods. It’s also the week AFTER my wife’s birthday, for which I wish to spend some money, so it’s good timing.

My goal? During that seven day span, I won’t spend a cent…on anything. No eating out, no grande latte’s. I’ll make sure any bills that fall during that week are paid in advance, and I’ll fill the car with gas on the Sunday prior.

I should note that, similar to previous no-spends, this is a personal thing. In other words, I’m not inflicting my uber-frugal zeal on the rest of the family. They put up with enough of my idiosyncrasies, after all.

WHAT I AIM TO ACCOMPLISH

You may be thinking, what’s the point? How much money can you save in a week? The truth is, not a lot. I’m not a big spender. I will often go a full week spending less than $25 on discretionary items. It’s less about the money goals, and more about focusing on the things that really matter. The people around me, and the projects that I’m passionate about, like this blog.

WHO’S WITH ME?

I took it easy this summer, and it’s been a few months since I set a challenge for myself, even a small one like this. How about you? Are you up for a no-spend challenge of your own? I’d love for you to join me. It could be a over a day or a weekend, it doesn’t matter. If you DO take up the challenge, I’d love to hear from you, either by commenting below, or sending me an email.

I’ve been getting an increasing number of emails from readers lately, which I absolutely love. It’s great getting to know some of you more, so please don’t hesitate to reach out! : )